Kawhi Leonard Makes First Basketball Appearance Since Team USA Controversy

LA Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard made a rare appearance.

LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) warms up before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the LA Clippers during game three of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: | Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

No player in the NBA is harder to find during the offseason than Kawhi Leonard. For as enigmatic as players like Nikola Jokic are, no one holds a candle to how enigmatic Kawhi is. So, when Kawhi makes an actual appearance, it's always viral.

Kawhi Leonard made a rare offseason appearance to train at the USC Galen Center with USC Basketball head coach Eric Musselman. It was the first appearance Leonard has made since getting pulled off of Team USA Basketball.

Awesome having six-time NBA All-Star @kawhileonard and current @LAClippers star workout at the Galen Center today 💪 pic.twitter.com/NCdbsLgFl6

— Eric Musselman (@EricPMusselman) July 31, 2024

On July 10, 2024, Kawhi Leonard was pulled from Team USA Basketball due to "up and down practices". It was stated that the decision was made jointly between Team USA and the Clippers themselves. However, later on, Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank made a different statement.

“It was USAB’s call, and I was, quite frankly, very disappointed with the decision,” Frank said. “Kawhi wanted to play. We wanted him to play.”

Frank then went on to add that he was personally at Kawhi Leonard's first two practices with the team, where he stated that Leonard looked good. Unfortunately, it was the third practice that caused Leonard to be pulled from the team.

“I was there the first two practices," Frank said. "He looked very good, was a full participant in everything that they did. I wasn’t there for the third practice, where ultimately, that was the point where they decided to go in a different direction. I expressed then I really wished that they would have given Kawhi more time."

The most important thing for Clipper fans is that Kawhi Leonard starts next season healthy. Based off this photo at USC, that seems to be the case right now.

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